Last.



A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.`

WILLIAM B. ARNOLD, OF ABINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 628,238, dated July 4, 1899.

Application filed December 28, 1893. Serial No. 494,993. (No model.)

To all whom zit may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. ARNOLD, of North Abington, cou nty of Plymouth, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Lasts, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like letters and ligures on the drawing representing like parts.

In the manufacture of shoes lasts are employed at various stages of the manufacture, and as at present usually conducted it is of importance that the lasts should be as simple in construction-t'- e., requiring as few parts as possible-and should be as nearly automatic in maintaining their proper position when in a shoe as the circumstances of use and requirements of costs, the., will permit. Accordingly my invention aims to fulfil these two requirements, presenting a last with few parts which automatically maintains itself in proper operative position, as will presently be explained, when in a last. There have been a great variety of lasts, including those extending in one piece from the toe to the heel and others divided into a plurality of parts, hinged and otherwise, the multipart lasts just referred to having been joined together (in those kinds thereof in which the parts are permanently connected) in various ways, as by sliding joints, connecting-lin ks, dowels, or plugs, and various kinds of hinges, one of the earlier of the latter kind of lasts being the one shown in United States Patent No. 395,668, dated January 1,1889; but all these lasts, so far as I am aware, have been more or less defective in the two points mentioned above as constituting the objects of my present invention.

My invention, as will be more definitely pointed out in the claim, relates solely to the lines of cut separating the last into its parts, or, rather, it resides in locating the bearing or turning point within the last at a point removed from the bottom of the last sufficiently to give stability to the last when in a shoe, so as to prevent the last from tending to collapse when in use, and while it is preferred that the parts of the last should be joined together, and a hinge has been shown in the drawing for this purpose as being most suitable for heavy work, I make no claim whatever to the hinge itself, as the employment of a hinge is not new with me, and, moreover, I do not restrict my invention to any form of fastening or to any connection, and likewise it will be understood that, excepting as specifled in the claim, my present invention is not restricted to the precise lines of cut shownas, for example, while I have shown an overhanging cut extending rearwardly from the intermediate bearing-point toward the heel of the last and for certain purposes prefer to employ this particular kind of out, yet the present invention is intended to be independent of and not restricted in this matter, as various lines of cut may be employed. In other words, my present invention resides in the discovery that by providing a multipart last with lines of cut so located as to provide a special point of intersection or internal bearing, as subsequently explained, a greatly-improved last results andthe unstable character thereof is prevented, and accordingly it will be understood that this invention is not dependent upon any one kind of last, but is intended as an improvement for all multipart lasts where it is capable of employment.

The limitations of this invention will be further explained and the invention will be distinguished more fully in the body of the specification later on, and the scope of the invention will be more particularly defined in the claim.

The drawing is a central vertical longitudinal sectional view showing my invention embodied in a hinged last arranged in a shoe, the dotted lines showing the heel end of the last as elevated and the last thereby shortened preparatory to moving the last toward the heel end of the shoe for removal therefrom.

For the purpose of more clearly understanding my invention reference may be had to the patent before mentioned, in which a divided last is shown havinga hinge located at or near the bottom of the last, the linesof cut separating the heel part from the fore part of the last diverging from a point in the plane of the pintle of the hinge.

construction it is evident that the moment that end pressure, even though slight, is brought upon the last or upon the shoe within which the last may be placed, the heel part y and the fore part will instantly collapse or In such a IOO tend to collapse or shorten, and accordingly l it is a sufficient distance abovc the bottom of in said patent various provisions are made for holding the part-s in extended position for lasting purposes, different arrangements of lilling-blocks being shown and also a springeatch for the purpose of maintaining the last l in its properly-lengthened position for use; but these additional elements not only increase the cost of the last, but renderit more liable to get out of order and consume more or less of the operator-s time in their manipulation.

Taking the type of last just referred toi. e., ahinged multipart lastas a convenient and common form of last with which to illus trate my invention, it will be seen ou reference to the drawing that I have raised the hinge and correspondingly raised or lengthened the abutting surfaces of the heel part and fore part of the last to a point within the last such that there is no tendencyof the last to collapse under the end wise pressure mentioned, and accordingly no filling-pieces or other additional parts or features of construction are required, inasmuch as the last automatically maintains its proper position under the ordinary conditions of use.

Referring to the drawing, myimproved last l in the form shown comprises a fore part A and heel partB, connected by a hinge-joint C.

In the particular last shown the cut made in separating the heel part from the fore part starts at the crown of the last at 2 and extends downwardly to the hinge, leaving a wall or shoulder 71, said cut being then carried rearwardly toward the heel of the last to the bottom of the last, thereby leaving in the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawing a projection 3, which in use constitutes an overlapping portion supported on the heel part. A second cut extends from the hinge outwardly and rearwardly, diverging from the previous cut, so as to leave a space s, the end of the heel part nearest the fore part being thereby shaped to leave two inclined or beveled faces b b', the face b of the heel part being in contact with the fore part when in extended position from the bottom of the last l to the intermediate point thereof, where thc two faces b b meet, this point being herein shown as at the hinge-pintle. This intermediate point referred to is located above the bottom of the lastat such a point that when the last is in a shoe in position for use it prevents the last from tending to collapse, and in the particular last shown this point (coinciding with the hinge-joint) is located substantially in a line (indicated at zu) inter secting approximately the widest part of the ball of the last, although my invention is not limited to this particular location so long as l the last, as explained. The drawing also indica-tes at d the sole of the shoe, having an attached upper e, the last being positioned within the slice. From the above description it will be evident that when the endwise pressure which ,l is commonly exerted on a shoe is brought to l bear on the last, whether it be lasted by a mal chine or in a shoemakers lap and Whether i the last be used as a first last or as a follower, j the lines of cut constituting my invention will prevent any tendency of the last to shorten l or turn up into the dotted position shown in l the figure and will indeed tend to hold the parts Iirmlyand solidly in their lengthened and working position.

I have alreadystated the broad character of i my invention and the fact thatit is not limited to the various details shown otherwise than as l setforth in the clai m, and I wish, furthermore, to distinguish my present invention from the divisional patent, No. 607,978, dated July 2G, 1898, which has already been granted to me, said divisional patent claiming, broadly, g that feature of the invention which provides l an overhanging cut, said cut in the form of last herein shown being indicated at b,where l as the features which I intend herein to claim l reside in providing a multipart last having such formation that the fore part and heel part thereof are in supporting contact substantially from the bottom of the last to an intermediate point removed from the bottom sufeiently to prevent the last from tending to collapse when in use and yet having a pori tion cut away by two diverging lines of cut l extending from said intermediate point to the top of the last, so that the heel part can turn up on the fore part in shortening and not dce pending upon or being in any wise limited to the direction of the said abutting line of contact-z'. e., it may overhang either forward or rearward or it may not overhang, so far as I claim- A multipart divided last, the parts whereof are in contact substantially from the bottom of the last to an intermediate point removed from the bottom suiiiciently to 'prevent the last from tending to collapse when in use, said last presenting two diver-ging lines of cut extending from said intermediate point to the top of the last, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM B. ARNOLD.

Witnesses:

GEo. W. GREGORY, EMMA J. BENNETT.

this broad feature of invention is concerned.

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